Beijing, Wanxiang Plaza General Manager's Office.
An elderly man with gray hair, in his sixties, was trembling with anger as he looked at the documents in his hand.
"Xiaoyu, oh Xiaoyu, I trusted you so much, placing you in such an important position in finance."
"And this is how you repay me?!"
Du Taiming roared, flinging the documents in his hand directly at Su Xiaoyu, who was kneeling in front of his desk.
Standing nearby, Du Ennan looked at Su Xiaoyu kneeling on the floor, her expression equally complicated.
She never imagined that her aunt would do something like this.
Bars, male models, embezzling over 2 million in company funds…
These things were impossible for Du Ennan to associate with Su Xiaoyu.
"Brother-in-law, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
"I was momentarily confused. I promise I'll pay back every cent of the embezzled funds."
"Please, please don't call the police, I beg you, I'll definitely pay it back."
"Please, for my sister's sake, forgive me this time, I beg you, I beg you…"
Su Xiaoyu knelt on the office floor, sobbing and pleading with Du Taiming not to report her to the police.
Maliciously misappropriating over 2 million of company assets—if the company pursued it to the end, she'd face at least five years in prison, possibly up to ten.
At 55 years old, if Su Xiaoyu were sent to jail, she'd come out as an old grandmother.
"How are you going to pay it back? You had a perfectly good life, and you threw it away by getting divorced."
"Your family is gone, your child doesn't even want to be with you, and you still don't reflect on yourself—you've only gotten worse!"
"You've ruined a perfectly good hand of cards! Xiaoyu, oh Xiaoyu, you've disappointed me so much!"
Du Taiming looked at Su Xiaoyu with a mix of frustration and regret, his heart filled with disappointment.
Originally, Su Xiaoyu had a decent family.
Her husband was honest and dependable, her son was married and established, and she had already become a grandmother.
But instead of cherishing her good life, Su Xiaoyu had an affair with a male employee at Wanxiang Plaza who was over twenty years younger than her.
Her family fell apart, her husband and son left her, and Su Xiaoyu thought she could marry her young lover.
But after he spent all her money, he vanished without a trace.
What shocked Du Taiming and Du Ennan even more was that, at her age, Su Xiaoyu was going to bars to hire male models.
And even more audaciously, she dared to embezzle over 2 million in company funds!
Thankfully, Du Ennan had been tipped off by Jiang Tao and caught it early.
If they had discovered it any later, Su Xiaoyu might have squandered a second, or even a third, 2 million!
After all, Su Xiaoyu was Du Taiming's sister-in-law, someone both he and Du Ennan deeply trusted.
The more trusted someone is, the greater the damage their betrayal causes!
Su Xiaoyu pleaded in the general manager's office for over an hour.
In the end, considering their years of connection, Du Taiming couldn't bring himself to handle it strictly by the book.
He ultimately just fired Su Xiaoyu, banned her from ever being rehired, and issued an internal company notice.
"Nannan, thanks to your friend's tip this time, we were able to stop the losses in time."
"Otherwise, who knows how much more your reckless aunt would have squandered."
"When you have time, arrange a dinner and invite him out to eat, and thank him in person."
After dealing with Su Xiaoyu, Du Taiming spoke earnestly to his daughter.
"Got it, Dad. But he's already gone back to his hometown for the New Year. I'll invite him to dinner after he's back."
Du Ennan nodded in agreement.
After the earlier incident where he reminded her to get a checkup and now this investigation into her aunt's finances, Jiang Tao's image in Du Ennan's mind had gained a touch of mystery.
However, if Jiang Tao wasn't forthcoming about certain things, she wouldn't pry.
Both tips had been to her benefit, and that was enough.
The father and daughter chatted a bit more before Du Ennan said goodbye and returned to her own office.
It was the last workday before the New Year, and with such a major incident happening at the company, Du Ennan's mood had soured considerably.
But thinking of the baby in her belly, she quickly took a few deep breaths to adjust her mindset.
After calming down, Du Ennan found Jiang Tao's number on her phone and dialed it.
…
Jiang Family Village, Jiang Tao's home.
*Ring ring ring—*
"Daddy, Daddy, someone's calling you~"
Jiang Xue, who was playing Plants vs. Zombies on Jiang Tao's phone, ran out from the living room and handed the phone to Xu Li, who was holding a ladder for Jiang Tao.
"Du Ennan? Honey, a woman's calling you~ Her name sounds so refined, she must be a beauty, right?"
The sour tone in Xu Li's voice nearly made Jiang Tao, who was hanging a lantern on the ladder, lose his balance and fall.
"I still think my wife's name sounds better. Du Ennan is just a regular friend. You can answer it for me."
Perched on the ladder, Old Jiang's survival instincts kicked in full force. To prove he had nothing to hide, he even asked Xu Li to answer the call.
He and Du Ennan were completely innocent, and there was nothing he needed to hide from Xu Li.
Besides, Jiang Tao knew this call from Du Ennan was likely to thank him for the morning's events.
Seeing her Old Jiang acting so upright and confident, Xu Li felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
It seemed her Old Jiang was still pretty honest outside.
Even with money, he hadn't been messing around.
Xu Li swiped to answer the call, and Du Ennan's voice came through.
"Jiang Tao, I went to the hospital for another checkup today, and the doctor said both me and the baby in my belly are healthy."
Hearing Du Ennan's words, Xu Li froze, as if struck by a bolt of lightning!
Old Jiang, oh Old Jiang, you really can't take a compliment!
I just said you were honest outside, and this is how you're honest?!
You've got a kid with someone else!
Jiang Tao, hearing Du Ennan's words, nearly fell off the ladder in shock.
"Honey! You, you, you've got a baby with another woman?!"
Xu Li stared in disbelief at her dearest husband—no, her ex-husband now.
"No, honey, listen, it's not what you think."
Seeing his backyard about to catch fire, Old Jiang didn't care about hanging lanterns anymore.
He hurriedly jumped off the ladder and grabbed Xu Li, who was on the verge of exploding.
"Uh? Jiang Tao, is everything okay on your end…?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, did I call at a bad time?"
On the other end of the phone, Du Ennan's attempt to explain only made things sound more like she was trying to cover something up.
"…"
Jiang Tao was speechless.
Du Ennan had always given him the impression of being a sharp and capable businesswoman.
How could she have such a clueless moment?!
"Honey, let me explain…"
After a flurry of explanations from Jiang Tao, combined with Du Ennan's clarification over the phone, their relationship was finally cleared up.
Xu Li's anger came quickly but left just as fast, and her ex-husband instantly became her husband again.
Afterward, Du Ennan thanked Jiang Tao over the phone, saying she owed him a big favor.
If Jiang Tao ever needed her help in the future, she'd be there without hesitation.
More friends, more paths—Jiang Tao didn't mind having a wealthy friend like Du Ennan.
Who knows, maybe he'd need her help someday.
Of course, in a completely proper way.
After hanging up with Du Ennan, Jiang Tao was about to climb back up the ladder to continue hanging lanterns when his phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID showed "Wang Xiaobai."
His money-delivering boy had arrived.